EXCITEMENT is high but local sports fans have been warned to keep their feet on the ground as the PNG Under-20 women’s soccer team play in their first World Cup.PNG play Brazil tonight at the Sir John Guise Stadium on the opening day of the Fifa Under-20 women’s soccer World Cup which will run over the next three weeks.Sports and Events Minister Justin Tkatchenko told local media that local sports fans should not raise their expectation of the national team’s results as “we are still a long way from the finished product”, the level of experience and skills in the other 15 teams.He said Brazil were a big challenge but urged the PNG players to “give it their all”.National team coach Lisa Cole said while the players would give the 15 other teams “a fight” and “anything is possible, expecting big results from them at such a world tournament was “unrealistic”.Cole said the expectation should be of the team improving “moment to moment, half to half and from the beginning till the end”.Tkatchenko said the World Cup should be about women, “about the opportunity to put our women in sports, about the hopes we give our girls growing up, about our girls rising up, about equality and about equal opportunities”.PNG play Group A opponents Sweden on Wednesday and North Korea the following Sunday.Port Moresby residents have been welcoming the 15 teams at the Jackson International Airport and making them feel at home.Canadian coach Danny Worthington echoed his team’s excitement at coming to PNG.“I came here earlier this year and I can say it is a wonderful country and I am sure our players are looking forward to the experience,” Worthington said.“Obviously, they’ve heard a lot about the culture here and they would want to experience that.”The matches from Nov 13 to Dec 3 will be played at the National Football Stadium, Sir John Guise Stadium, PNG Football Stadium and Bava Park. The National/ PNGfacts/ Photo credit: Justin Tkentchenco